Payment cards such as credit or debit cards are ubiquitous. For decades, such cards have included a magnetic stripe on which the relevant account number is stored. To consummate a purchase transaction with such a card, the card is swiped through a magnetic stripe reader that is part of a point of sale (POS) terminal. The reader reads the account number from the magnetic stripe. The account number is then used to route a transaction authorization request that is initiated by the POS terminal. The authorization request is routed from the merchant's acquiring financial institution (“acquirer”) to a server computer operated by or on behalf of the issuer of the payment account. The issuer's server computer provides a response to the authorization request. If the response indicates that the issuer has authorized the transaction, the transaction is consummated at the point of sale. Later the transaction is cleared for settlement via the acquirer and the issuer.
More recently, cards that incorporate an integrated circuit (IC) have been utilized as payment cards. One type of IC payment card is known as a “proximity payment card” and is in widespread use. For example, proximity payment cards in the well-known ID-1 standard size incorporate a radio frequency identification (RFID) integrated circuit (IC) and an antenna. In use, the card is presented to a proximity reader that is part of a point of sale (POS) terminal to initiate a payment transaction. The card receives a wireless interrogation signal from the proximity reader via the card antenna. The interrogation signal powers up the RFID IC, which exchanges RF communications with the proximity reader. As part of the communications, the RFID IC provides a payment account number to the POS terminal. The POS terminal uses the payment account number to obtain authorization for the payment transaction.
Proximity payment devices in form factors other than ID-1 have also been proposed. For example, a card-shaped proximity payment device may be much smaller than ID-1-sized and may be installed into a plastic casing to take on the form of a keyfob. Such an arrangement is disclosed, for example, in U.S. published patent application no. 2008/0121707 which is commonly assigned herewith and which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the device itself may be fob-shaped and may include a hole for receiving a keyring.
According to a further proposal, proximity payment functionality may be incorporated in a wristwatch, as disclosed for example in U.S. published patent application no. 2009/0065587, which also is commonly assigned herewith and incorporated herein by reference.
When IC payment devices are in the ID-1 form factor, they generally are well-accepted by consumers, in view of the long history of carrying and using similar-appearing magnetic stripe payment cards. For at least some situations, however, a fob-sized payment device may provide greater convenience, if only by taking up less space in purse, wallet or pocket. However, there has been some resistance to fob-shaped payment devices among consumers. It appears that consumers in some cases tend not to ascribe high value or status to fob-shaped payment devices and have the perception that such devices are cheap and disposable rather than worthwhile possessions.